Railway construction.



G. B. HOFFMAN.

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11. 1916.

1,223,695. Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

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GEORGE B. HOFFMAN, 0F RAVEN ROCK, NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 191?.

Application filed July 11, 1916. Serial No. 108,632.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Gnoncn B. HOFFMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Raven Rock, in the county of Hunterdon and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in railway construction.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to produce a reinforced plastic tie having rail securing means associated therewith, which shall be of such a nature as to effectively withstand the shock and jar incident to the weight of the rolling stock passing thereover without danger of breakage or displacement from the roadbed.

It is also my purpose to produce a plastic or reinforced concrete tie which shall com prise two substantially similar sections that shall be connected in such a manner as to permit one of the sections yielding inde pendently of the other section to produce the desired cushioning effect and to prevent damage to either of the sections of the tie.

' It is a still further object of the invention to produce a reinforced plastic tie which shall comprise two substantially similar sections that are formed, at their confronting ends, with a depression or pocket within which is received a substantially U-shaped saddle member or plate, bolt members passing longitudinally from the ends of the tie and through openings .in the flanges of the saddle member or plate, springs surrounding the inner ends of the bolts and being contacted by nuts which are screwed upon the said ends of the bolts, and the said nuts engaging with the longitudinal member of the saddle plate to prevent the turning of the same, and whereby the bolts may be adjusted from the outer ends of the tie to regulate the tension of the springs and con sequently regulate the degree or angle at which one of the sections will yield in a downward direction with relationv to the other section of the tie.

It is a still further object of the invention to produce a reinforced concrete tie comprising substantially similar members or sections which have their confronting faces provided with reinforcing abutment metal plates, spring means being provided for sustaining the sections in longitudinal justable means being provided for forcing the said rail contacting members toward or away from the rails, and means being provided for locking the said adjustable means.

With the above and other objects in view the improvement resides in the construction,

combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tie con structed in accordance with the present in vention and illustrating the rails secured thereon,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the tie, the rails being shown in section,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View approximately on the line H of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the tie,

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view approximately on the line 66 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the combined reinforcing and rail supporting andretaining member for each of the tie sections.

As illustrated by the accompanying drawings the tiel is of the ordinary size and proportion and comprises two substantially similar sections or members. The tie is con structed of suitable reinforced plastic mations are adapted to receive a metallic member, in the nature of a saddle and which saddle includes a horizontally straight portion 3 which is adapted to engage with the upper walls of the pockets and which is of a width corresponding with the width of the said pockets. The ends of the plate 3 are formed with downturned right angular flanges a which are adapted to be disposed adjacent the inner or end walls of the pockets 2. The flanges 4, at an equal distance from the center thereof are provided with openings to receive the threaded ends of bolt members 5 which pass through the tie sections and enter the pockets. The heads of these bolts are arranged upon the outer ends of the tie and contact with the outer reinforcing plate upon the said ends when such a plate is employed, while the inner ends of the said bolts have arranged thereon helical springs 6. The numerals 7 designate the nuts for the bolts, and by reference to the drawings it will be noted that one of the sides of each of these nuts contacts with the horizontal plate of the saddle so that the said nuts are held against rotary movement, which arrangement permits of the adjustment of the tension of the springs 6 by the turning of the bolts 5, from the outer ends of the tie.

The saddle member is of a lengthless than the combined length of the alining pockets 2, so that the ends or flanges of the said saddle member will not contact with the inner walls of the pockets and also the openings for the bolts in the said flanges permit of the free passage of the bolts there through, and so it will be noted that I have provided what may be termed a spring hinge connection between the sections, whereby one of the said sections, when under stress or strain, may yield in a downward direction to a limited degree independent of the other section. It will thus be noted that the tie provides for the desired cushioning eflect for the rails, so that danger of injury to the tie sections or to the rails upon the said tie, in this respect, will be effectively overcome.

If desired, the tie sections may be pro vided with longitudinally extending metal tubes through which the bolts may freely pass, and preferably the lower ends of the flanges of the saddle member rest directly upon the roadbed so as to normally sustain the horizontal member of the said saddle in contact with the upper walls of the pockets, while the extending or projecting ends of the said flanges, entering the roadbed, will prevent the longitudinal movement of the tie upon the said roadbed.

Each of the sections of the tie, adjacent to the outer ends thereof, has embedded therein the vertically arranged flange 8 of the combined tie reinforcing and rail sustaming member. The flanges 8 of these members, it will be noted, are disposed centrally between the pairs of bolt members on each of the tie sections. The flange or web 8 is of a width equaling the thickness of the tie sections and has both of its ends formed with longitudinally extending lower and upper plates 9 and 10 respectively which are of a width corresponding to the width of the tie. The upper plate 10 provides the member upon which the rails 11 rest, and this plate, adjacent to or at its ends, is integrally formed with transversely arranged upwardly extending members or flanges 12 and 13 respectively, each of the said flanges being formed with a central boss 14 that has a threaded aperture. Formed integrally with the plate 10 and disposed centrally thereof and extending inwardly from each of the flanges l2 and 13 are dovetailed tongues 15 which are adapted to be received in the centrally arranged dove-tailed groove 16 in the rail engaging members or clamps 17. Each of the clamps 17 has its inner face, at the bottom thereof, formed with a transverse depression shaped to snugly engage with the edges and upper faces of the base flanges of the rails 11, and each of the rail clamps has its outer corner formed with an upwardly extending boss 18 disposed centrally thereof and in a line with the bosses it on the flanges 12 and 13 of the plate 10. Passing through and engaging with the threads in the apertures of the bosses 14 are bolt members 19 contacting with the outer faces of the respective bosses 18 of the rail clamps, and these, bolts provide means for longitudinally adjusting the rail clamps and for forcing the same into rail engaging position. Each of the bolt members 19 has screwed thereon a locking nut 20 which is adapted to contact with the inner faces of the bosses 14; to retain the rail clamps properly adjusted with relation to the rails.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages thereof will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention appertains without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is: j

1. A reinforced plastic tie comprising two sections having abutting ends, spring means for connecting the sections, and means for adjusting such connecting means.

2. A reinforced plastic tie comprising two sections, a saddle member arranged at the confronting ends of the sections, and spring pressed means engaging with the saddle member to connect the sections.

3. A tie comprising two alining sections, a member arranged at the confronting ends of the sections, spring pressed means for connecting the member with the respective tie sections, said means including adjustable elements operative from the ends of the tie.

at. A tie comprising two alining sections having their confronting ends formed each with a pocket, a flanged saddle member in the pockets, and'adjustable means passing through the tie sections and engaging with the flanges of the saddle for connecting the sections with the saddle.

5. A. plastic tie comprising two alining sections, reinforcing plates upon the confronting ends of the sections, an element bridging the sections, and adjustable spring pressed means upon each of the sections connected with the said element for joining the sections.

6. A plastic tie comprising two similar alining sections, reinforcing plates upon the confronting ends of said sections, each of said sections at its said confronting end having a longitudinal pocket, a saddle memher having angular ends arranged in the pocket, means, comprising adjustable elements passing longitudinally through the sections and engaging with the flanges of the saddle for connecting the sections, and spring means between said connecting means and the said flanges of the saddle.

7. A plastic tie comprising two substantially similar registering sections having their confronting ends provided each with a pocket, a saddle member having end flanges arranged in the registering pockets and the said flanges projecting through the said pockets, adjustable means upon each of the sections engaging with one of the flanges of the saddle, and spring pressed means associated with said connecting means.

8. A plastic tie comprising two similar alining sections having their confronting ends provided each with a pocket, a metallic reinforcement for the confronting end of each of the said sections, a saddle member in the registering pockets, said member having depending end flanges disposed out of contact with the end walls of the pocket and projecting through the pocket, bolt members passing longitudinally through the sections and through the flanges of the saddle, nuts contacting with the upper member of the saddle arranged upon the bolts, and springs surrounding the bolts disposed between the nuts and the flanges of the saddle.

9. A plastic tie comprising two substantially similar sections having their confronting ends abutting, spring pressed means for connecting the tie sections, reinforcing means for the sections including a member,

having upper and lower plates which are disposed upon the upper and lower faces of each of the sections and a web connecting the said plates and passing centrally through each of the sections.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

GEORGE B. HOFFMAN.

'Jopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

